November 10, 2024 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Joey Logano wins his third NASCAR Cup Series title

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Joey Logano pulled off a masterful restart and held on for dear life.

Fifty-four laps later, Logano had his third NASCAR Cup Series championship—most among full-time active drivers—by a scant 0.330 seconds over Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney.

On the final restart on Lap 259 of 312 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, Logano drove like a cannon shot from sixth place past Blaney, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and finally race leader and Championship 4 contender William Byron to seize the top spot on Lap 260.

Logano remained out front the rest of the way, though Blaney got as close as 0.167 seconds back over the last 10 laps.

The victory was Logano’s fourth at Phoenix, his fourth of the season and the 36th of his career. As a three-time champion, Logano ties Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart, all NASCAR Hall of Famers.

Only four drivers have more titles: Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jimmie Johnson with seven each and Jeff Gordon with four.

The championship was the third straight for team owner Roger Penske, with Logano winning in 2022 and Blaney claiming the crown last year.

“I love the Playoffs, I love it, man,” Logano said. “What a race! What a Team Penske battle there at the end. Had a good restart and was able to get in front of the 12 (Blaney). And he had a lot of long-run speed there, and it was all I had there to hold him off.

“Man, three (championships), that’s really special to get that. What a team. To fight through today, we went through a little bit of adversity throughout the race.

“I’ve got the best team. I don’t know if I’m the best driver, but I’ve got the best team, and together we’re very well-rounded and can show up when it matters the most. We’ve got a mentally tough team that can make things happen when it matters.”

Logano’s team, however, had issues on pit road. The No. 22 Ford lost four spots under caution for the Stage 1 break, and after green-flag stops during the second stage, Patrick Gray from Austin Cindric’s No. 2 team replaced Logano’s jackman, Graham Stoddard, who was ill.

After the final restart, Logano took charge, with considerable help from his spotter.

“Coleman Pressley,” said Logano, who led twice for 107 laps, second to Christopher Bell’s 143. “He was telling me where (Blaney) was. He was up there telling me the best lanes to run. And it’s a balance of putting dirty air on him and running the fastest laps for my Ford. We just got a little too tight there at the end and couldn’t really wrap the bottom as well as I wanted to.

“One-two for Team Penske, three championships in a row since this Next-Gen car (was introduced in 2022). Couldn’t be more proud of everyone at the shop that’s built these things.”

Byron finished third behind Logano and Blaney. Tyler Reddick was last among the Championship 4 drivers in sixth and never was a factor for the win.

After the final restart shook out, Blaney was fourth behind Logano, Byron and Larson. He passed Larson on Lap 277 and Byron on Lap 290. Over the next 22 suspense-filled laps, Blaney got close to Logano’s rear bumper but not close enough to make a move for the lead.

“I had to work really hard to get by the 5 (Larson) and the 24 (Byron). Joey was pretty far away, and I was working really hard to try to get to Joey. I was kind of nervous that if I ended up getting close to him, a lot of my stuff would be burned off of it, and it kind of was. But didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t really wait.

“Yeah, just took too long. The restart didn’t play out for us. I feel like if I came out behind Joey and didn’t have two cars in between us that I had to pass, I would have been able to have a better shot. But just the restart didn’t work out, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

Logano followed a strange path to the championship. He was eliminated from the Playoffs at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, only to get a second life when the Chevrolet of Alex Bowman failed post-race inspection by not meeting minimum weight.

Logano took full advantage, winning at Las Vegas the following week to earn his place in the Championship 4 Round.

Larson and Bell finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Bubba Wallace, Elliott, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez came home seventh through 10th.

The race was not without its share of comic relief. Coming to a restart after the Stage 1 break, the pace car slid into the sand barrels protecting the entrance to pit road, necessitating a 5 minute 47 second red flag period for cleanup.

After the race ended, Logano looked around in bewilderment.

“Where’s my crew?” Logano asked, then realized that his team was hustling from pit stall No. 24 on the backstretch, the stall assigned by NASCAR after Logano’s car failed pre-race inspection twice.

The final race marked a season of endings. Pole winner Martin Truex Jr. finished 17th in his final race as a full-time driver.

Kyle Busch’s record streak of 19 straight years with at least one Cup victory ended in a 21st-place finish. Logano now holds the longest active streak at 13 years.

Stewart-Haas Racing is ceasing to operate after the end of the race, with 12th-place Noah Gragson finishing highest among the four SHR drivers.

Jeff Striegle called his last race in the booth for the Motor Racing Network (MRN). Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, announced his retirement after 45 years with NASCAR’s exclusive tire maker.

Harrison Burton finished 16th in his final drive for the Wood Brothers. And Fed-Ex sponsored Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the final time.



NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 36
Race Results for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship - Sunday, November 10, 2024
Phoenix Raceway - Avondale, AZ - 1. - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 312 Laps - 312. Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 11/10/2024 @ 07:19 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 2 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford 312 1 3 40 Running 2 107 6
2 17 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 312 6 1 35 Running 2 12 1
3 8 24 William Byron (P) Axalta Chevrolet 312 4 4 34 Running 4 19
4 4 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 312 9 7 39 Running 2 13
5 7 20 Christopher Bell Interstate Batteries/DEWALT Toyota 312 3 2 49 Running 3 143
6 10 45 Tyler Reddick (P) The Beast Unleashed Toyota 312 7 10 31 Running  
7 29 23 Bubba Wallace Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota 312   30 Running  
8 5 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 312 5 8 38 Running 1 7
9 24 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 312  6 33 Running  
10 34 99 Daniel Suarez Worldwide Express Chevrolet 312   27 Running  
11 14 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Toyota 312 8 5 35 Running  
12 21 10 Noah Gragson Nitro Circus Ford 312   25 Running  
13 11 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 312 10  25 Running  
14 16 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 312   23 Running 1 1
15 27 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 312   22 Running  
16 9 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 312   21 Running  
17 1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 312 2 9 31 Running 1 9
18 15 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life Chevrolet 312   19 Running  
19 3 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 312   18 Running  
20 32 38 Todd Gilliland Boozy Jerky! Ford 311   17 Running 1 1
21 25 8 Kyle Busch 3CHI Chevrolet 311   16 Running  
22 19 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 311   15 Running  
23 22 31 Daniel Hemric Cirkul Chevrolet 311   14 Running  
24 39 4 Josh Berry # Texas A&M University Ford 311   13 Running  
25 26 16 Derek Kraus Western States Flooring Chevrolet 311   12 Running  
26 23 84 * Jimmie Johnson Carvana Toyota 310   11 Running  
27 36 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet 310   10 Running  
28 13 7 Justin Haley Parity Week By Gainbridge Chevrolet 310   9 Running  
29 12 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 310   8 Running  
30 18 42 John Hunter Nemechek Mobil 1 Toyota 310   7 Running  
31 35 34 Michael McDowell Love's/Fleetguard Ford 309   6 Running  
32 20 51 Corey LaJoie Mighty Fire Breaker Ford 309   5 Running  
33 30 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fry's/Silk Chevrolet 309   4 Running  
34 31 15 Kaz Grala # Meat N' Bone Ford 308   3 Running  
35 37 44 * JJ Yeley(i)  Chevrolet 306   0 Running  
36 38 66 * Chad Finchum(i) 2ONE Pouches Ford 302   0 Running  
37 33 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 302   1 Running  
38 40 50 * Jeb Burton(i) Luxedo Chevrolet 294   0 Running  
39 28 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 247   1 Accident  
40 6 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 1   1 Accident  

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 16 Secs. Average Speed: 106.203 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.330 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 22, 19, 20, 24, 9, 12, 45, 11, 5, 2
Stage 2 Top 10: 12, 20, 22, 24, 11, 17, 5, 9, 19, 45

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 4 for 33 laps; Laps: 3-9 (#54 Incident Frontstretch [None]); 62-71 (Stage 1 Conclusion [Red Flag: 00:05:47] [31]); 187-194 (Stage 2 Conclusion [41]); 251-258 (#71 Incident Turn 1 [23]).

Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers; M. Truex Jr. 1-9; J. Logano (P) 10-63; W. Byron (P) 64; C. Elliott 65-71; C. Bell 72-117; K. Larson 118-124; A. Bowman 125; T. Gilliland 126; C. Bell 127-177; R. Blaney (P) 178-188; W. Byron (P) 189; C. Bell 190-235; R. Blaney (P) 236; W. Byron (P) 237-247; K. Larson 248-253; W. Byron
(P) 254-259; J. Logano (P) 260-312.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875


FINAL NASCAR CUP SERIES STANDINGS

Phoenix Raceway
NASCAR Cup Series Championship

UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 11/10/2024 @ 07:23 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL

Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Joey Logano (P) 22 36 -1 5040 0 0 4 3 0
2. Ryan Blaney (P) 12 36 1 5035 -5 5 3 5 0
3. William Byron (P) 24 36 -1 5034 -6 1 3 2 0
4. Tyler Reddick (P) 45 36 1 5031 -9 3 3 6 0
5. Christopher Bell 20 36 0 2412 -2628 2619 3 11 0
6. Kyle Larson 5 35 0 2378 -2662 34 6 12 0
7. Chase Elliott 9 36 0 2342 -2698 36 1 2 0
8. Denny Hamlin 11 36 -1 2328 -2712 14 3 7 0
9. Alex Bowman 48 36 1 2318 -2722 10 1 1 0
10. Martin Truex Jr. 19 36 0 2257 -2783 61 0 4 0
11. Austin Cindric 2 36 0 2247 -2793 10 1 4 0
12. Daniel Suarez 99 36 0 2226 -2814 21 1 1 0
13. Brad Keselowski 6 36 0 2208 -2832 18 1 1 0
14. Chase Briscoe 14 36 0 2184 -2856 24 1 0 0
15. Ty Gibbs 54 36 0 2169 -2871 15 0 2 0
16. Harrison Burton 21 36 0 2122 -2918 47 1 0 0
17. Chris Buescher 17 36 0 930 -4110 1192 1 3 0
18. Bubba Wallace 23 36 0 878 -4162 52 0 1 0
19. Ross Chastain 1 36 0 852 -4188 26 1 2 0
20. Kyle Busch 8 36 0 766 -4274 86 0 1 0